The Duelists' Revenge
by mrskillianjonesig
Summary: AU; Two-Shot; By trying to smooth down differences between his friends Steve Rogers, Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, gets into a strife with the school's black sheep. Out of all people it's the unnerving Tony Stark who hatches a plan with him in order to save a friend with a secret.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: The idea for this was born in the aftermath of Civil War, while wearing a 'Quidditch' t-shirt. I do not own anything but the headcanon of my favourite Marvel characters turning the home of Harry Potter on its head.**

It was October and the breathtaking castle that was Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry somehow seemed to appear in a more golden light than usual.

Steve Rogers strolled through the school corridors, wearing his yellow and black Quidditch sweater. Last weekend Hufflepuff house surprisingly had won their first Quidditch match this year. Surprisingly, because neither the Hufflepuff team itself nor the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, Thor Odinson, had expected this outcome.

As Steve passed by one classroom after another, casually carrying his school books under one arm, he realized he was holding his head high. He was proud of their team and happy he had been able to prevent quite a few of the Quaffels Thor had thrown from scoring. Therefore a satisfied smile appeared on his face for a split second, when two boys dressed in Ravenclaw robes crossed his path.

The slightly smaller one of them both smirked at Steve, calling, "Hey Rogers, how's the black eye?"

Yup, Steve had caught the last Quaffel with his head and had therefore spent the last minute of the match on the ground before Clint had caught the Snitch, setting the game with a loudly celebrated win for Hufflepuff.

"Next month versus Ravenclaw. Be prepared. We're gonna take care of the other eye, too", the lad added.

"I can't remember you being on the team, Stark", Steve replied, quickly continuing his way, trying not to think of the smirk and the repartees of Tony Stark. Tony always hung out with the boy who was accompanying him. His name was Bruce, he had curly hair and wore glasses. Without Tony Stark as his 'bro', how Sam liked to put it, Bruce might have been a friendless nerd, for his social skills were lacking the forthrightness and wit Tony Stark definitely did have.

But Steve tried hard not to think of this topic right now. He tried to concentrate on flaming pudding so hard, he nearly ran into a ginger Slytherin girl. She simply shot him a pissed off look and then hurried in the same direction Tony and Bruce did. A few seconds later Steve could hear Tony whistle at her before he took the stairs to meet Sam in the library.

"The black eye's looking good", Sam greeted him. "But I still don't understand why you wanted me to come to the library _now._ Look at them. All the other ones are going down to the Great Hall for lunch", Sam complained, pointing at the corridor where a younger Hufflepuff student just fixed his shoelaces, dropping all of his belongings in the process. Then an athletic Slytherin student was appearing in the doorway of the library, hiding his hands in his pockets.

"Steve, what are we doing in the library when not even studious Ravenclaw girls are here for us to stare at them?", Bucky asked before he saw Sam, sitting at the table. Then he froze.

"What is he doing here?", Sam asked and if looks could kill, Steve would have been hit by a Killing Curse from two sides. Steve actually hadn't expected a different reaction from his two best friends. After Hufflepuff's victory over Gryffindor he had felt a lot of joy but since Sam and Bucky had decided to start a quarrel in the summer holidays he couldn't share his joy with them. At least not with both of them at the same time. The three of them had fought about Quidditch countless of times in the past, which was inevitable when playing in three different teams, but this year Bucky and Sam already hadn't spoken a word to each other on the Hogwarts Train. After the last weekend Steve's euphoria was big enough to try an intervention.

Shortly after that when they finally joined dinner in the Great Hall there weren't as many students as Sam has expected. Most were enjoying the last bit of sunlight they would get this year. This only made it easier for Loki to observe how Bucky entered the hall, approaching Natasha at their house table in order to discuss something with her. Strangely, Sam was doing the exact same thing when he entered, with the small difference that he was approaching Peggy Carter at the Gryffindor table. As for Steve, he went directly to his house table and began to load fish and chips on his plate.

"Your run-out in the match was legendary. And no worries about the black eye. I think it gives you a daredevil look", the boy, that had fixed his shoelaces in the corridor before, told Steve who wasn't sure whether he was flattered but he probably was. "Thanks, Parker", he said, clapping Peter on the back so vigorously, the poor boy had trouble to stay in his seat.

The rest of the week was a fine line between the disillusionment caused by the homework their teachers gave them and the anticipation for what Steve and his friends had planned for Friday evening.

* * *

On Friday morning Steve got up early to have enough time to speak to Sam and Bucky before his Transfiguration class. As he arrived in the Great Hall, back in his Hogwarts robes instead of his yellow sweater, only very few students were having their fried eggs, toast and pumpkin juice already, Tony and his friends surprisingly being some of them. Steve sat down on the opposite side of the gate between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw table.

Tony ate the last bite of his whole-grain toast and cleared his throat. Then he made his best imitation of his father's tone when he was giving an interview for the _Daily Prophet_. "As you might know, I spent the last days, working on a challenge someone well challenged me to", he announced, looking at Bruce.

"Of course we know because you kept reminding us every single day", Pepper observed, crossing her arms in front of her chest where a neatly tied silver-blue tie disappeared in her uniform's cardigan. Tony looked at her, loosing his cool for a moment. "Anyways, if I'm right – and I usually am – the jinx has worked. We'll see when the mail arrives."

Steve was hoping Sam and Bucky would take their time, so he could stay where he was to find out what jinx Tony had tried out. Slowly, the Great Hall became louder and fuller as more and more students arrived. Clint Barton, Hufflepuff's Seeker, joined Steve, followed by Sharon, a fourth-year from their house. Then the morning mail arrived with the wing beat of four dozen owls at the hall's high and cloudless ceiling. Steve pretended to look for Bucky at the Slytherin table to have an excuse for turning around.

A barn owl brought Tony a letter. When it landed on the table in front of him, Tony politely said, "Thanks, Jarvis." Whereupon the owl responded in a staccato speech, "You're welcome, Mr Stark."

"You jinxed your owl", stated Pepper, "Why am I not surprised?" But Steve was surprised. And amazed. He didn't think he would have it in him to produce such a spell and admired the students who did.

"What a jerk", Sam commented, making Steve jump. "Who needs a talking bird. I certainly don't. Redwing doesn't need these frills to be the best owl in England. You coming, or what?", he added as Steve didn't show a sign of movement. "Sure", he mumbled, following Sam to the entrance of the hall where Bucky leaned at one of the posts.

"Tonight after dinner in the empty classroom on the third floor", Bucky informed Sam and Steve. "No unwanted visitors, no joke articles from Zonko's. Any questions?", Sam asked. He and Bucky had kept their conversations short this week, so this was already a lot of words. The three of them looked at each other, shaking their heads. Everything was clear.

"I have Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws now", Steve told his friends, heading for the classroom while Bucky and Sam went to the dungeons where Gryffindor and Slytherin had Potions together.

* * *

Steve and Clint sat next to each other in nearly all of the classes because every time the lessons got boring, they knew they had at least one thing to talk about: Quidditch. But in Transfiguration class they sat together even though they knew there would probably not be a chance to discuss the training or new tactics because Professor Hill was one of the strictest teachers at Hogwarts and the deputy headmaster in case Professor Fury had more important things to manage.

Today they were supposed to transfigure their own arms which was a start of human transfiguration in order to gain extra powers. In Classroom 1B all the students tried to transfigure their arms to reach the top of the cupboards, standing on walls of the room, which Steve found ridiculous since he was able to reach them without effort. It required a lot of concentration and skill to transfigure the own body and nearly every student, even most of the Ravenclaws, had problems to be as precise as possible. Except for one, who didn't even try but was still swaggering about his talking owl.

"Mr Rogers, please explain to me what could be more important for you to focus on than class", Professor Hill insisted, giving a more than unamused look as she noticed Steve's inactivity. Just in this moment laughter rose in the classroom, Tony Stark laughing the loudest. Clint's left arm was hanging down at the side of his body, his hand lying on the floor. He was obviously embarrassed by it and blushed while Tony was making one joke after another. "Well, at least you don't have to bend down now in case you want to pick something up from the ground."

Steve couldn't understand how nobody made an attempt to help Clint out. It was so unfair. "Gulping Gargoyles, Stark. That's enough", Steve cursed. "Language", Clint grinned and Tony turned around to Steve.

"Well well, Rogers. You're playing the hero now. Do you want me to tell Peggy about your heroic act. You reckon she would be impressed by the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain standing up for his friend?", Tony suggested with a grimace. The Stark family was friends with the Carters for generations already which meant Tony's family spent Christmas and similar holidays with Peggy's and they knew each other quite well. Last year Steve had invited Peggy to a school ball held at Hogwarts and Tony ever since delighted in teasing him about Peggy and his bad dancing skills. But Steve had enough of Tony always making fun of him and his friends. He took one threatening step forward, when Professor Hill's bossy voice declared, "Silence. One more word from either of you and I'll await you for detention tonight after dinner."

Steve thought about his, hoping Tony would for once listen to what he was told, because he had no interest in detention. Not today. Tony fell silent and even endured Pepper's deprecating stare without another comment.

When the lesson was over Steve left in relief, accompanied by Clint, whose arm was back in normal shape. Steve breathed out heavily, whispering, "I'm glad Hill didn't go through with the detention. Sam, Bucky and I have plans for tonight after dinner." Then the Ravenclaws hurried past them for their Herbology classes with the Slytherins.

Lunch, dinner and the lessons in between passed by less unnerving than Friday morning. Steve just hoped their plan would end the strife between Sam and Bucky. At dinner he gulped down his chips, peas and meat, drinking his butterbeer in one go to swallow everything. He waited until Sam and Bucky left their tables, accompanied by Peggy and Natasha, before he joined them at the Great Hall's entrance. Subtly they sneaked off to the empty classroom. Inside it was jet black and Steve accidentally stepped on someone's toes. "Ouch", Peggy exclaimed, slapping his upper arm. "Sorry."

Once all of them were inside the room they enacted their wandlights and started whispering. "Welcome to the duel of your lifetime", Sam reported, grinning brightly.

"I can't believe we let you drag us into this crazy idea", Natasha said, rolling her eyes. "Well, this is a duel", Bucky explained, "so we needed seconds. Even though I still find one of us should be impartial."

"I am", Steve protested, as he saw himself caught in the middle. "I think Barnes is right. You're more my friend than his", Sam said. "Are you kidding me, Wilson? I've known Steve since he was born", Bucky talked back.

"Oh c'mon guys. We don't have all night", Peggy sighed. "Alright, alright." Sam and Bucky took off their pullovers and ties. Then the five of them magically put the tables out of the way. The duelists positioned themselves in the middle of the room, when suddenly the door opened, revealing no other than Tony Stark.

"Merlin's beard! We said no unwanted visitors", Sam exclaimed. "What are you doing here, Stark?"

"A little owl told me you and your friends had planned something. So I followed you after dinner", Tony beamed. He had to laugh about the new meaning this turn of speech had gained due to his jinx on Jarvis. That it wasn't an owl but the simple fact he had eavesdropped what Steve had been telling Clint earlier no one had to know.

"Go eat slugs, Tony", Bucky ordered. "No", Steve interrupted, "I'm gonna duel him."

"Steve-", Peggy let out. "Sold", Tony chuckled, rolling up his sleeves, adding "Peg, I need a second." "Why me?", she wanted to know.

"Stark doesn't trust me farther than he could throw me", Natasha explained, making eye contact with Steve to tell him she would serve as his second. "Wonderful. Now that we settled that, could we please start this duel already", Sam insisted, not even trying to hide his impatience.

Bucky and Sam engaged in a hilarious conflict. Making each other dance, jump and all kinds of other ridiculous things, the others had trouble not laugh, which would have given away their location. In the end both of them were in each other's arms, their bodies jerking in silent laughters that brought tears to their eyes. It looked like they were getting on with one another.

Steve didn't realize this immediately as he was thinking about his duel with Tony. Mechanically he moved to the centre of the room in order to face Tony before they would take a few steps back. Tony smirked as they bowed but Steve kept a straight face. He breathed heavily but when he turned around, the door opened once again.

Promptly the six students in the room stood upright. Professor Coulson looked at them, making the lot of them feel guilty without saying a word. "Professor Coulson", Steve addressed his head of house, "before you punish anyone, let me explain that this was m-", he continued but he was interrupted by Tony. "This was my fault. I know we aren't supposed to be here and I am sorry."

"Taking the blame is very noble of you, Mr Stark, but you can't deny the fact that your classmates are here with you. Your individual punishment depends on the head of your houses. I have to inform Professor Hill, Professor Selvig and Professor Raina and I'm taking fifty points from each of your houses. Please return to your common rooms now."

Silently one after another they headed for their common rooms. "Miss Carter, I'm surprised to see you here", Coulson said, as Peggy passed by him. "That makes two of us, Professor", she reasoned dryly.

When everyone else was gone Professor Coulson addressed Steve once more. "Mr Rogers, I'm surprised to encounter you at the scene of what apparently was a duel between students. That better won't happen again." "Of course not, Sir", Steve replied, turning to leave. "And, Mr Rogers, make our team win the next Quidditch match, too. At the moment we're playing one of the best terms ever," Professor Coulson smiled. "Yes, sir."

* * *

Steve had trouble finding sleep that night. Why had Tony taken the blame? Would the others be mad because they wouldn't have been there for so long if he hadn't challenged Tony? And how had Tony really found out about their meet-up? He decided to ask all these questions tomorrow and then he was finally able to settle in an uneasy sleep, tossing and turning all of the night.

On Saturday morning he woke up, seeing that he was the last one in his dorm. Since there were no classes today he was happily choosing a blue hoodie to wear with his dark trousers. On his way to the Great Hall he encountered Sam, Bucky, Tony and Natasha in the hallway, wearing casual outfits as well. Nat always took advantage of any occasion that allowed her to wear trousers instead of the uniforms' skirts.

"Morning, guys", Steve greeted his friends, nervously shifting from one foot to another, his hands buried deep in his trousers. But the others included him in their discussion without a word of rage. "Okay Stevie, what's your opinion on last night?"

"Um", Steve stuttered. He didn't expect the question but then the questions that kept him up half the night came to his mind. "Why did you stand up for us when Coulson caught us, anyway, Tony?"

"I thought you'd never ask", he chuckled, "Here's my brilliant theory: Someone ratted on us. Well on you all but I joined your super secret duelist circle and whoever it was didn't figure on me, so I tried to queer their plan."

"You think someone ratted on us? It could've been coincidence that Coulson busted us", Natasha reasoned matter-of-factly. Tony simply looked at her the _You don't actually believe this, do you_ way. "Let's say, you're right, Stark. What's your plan?", Sam asked.

"Avenge ourselves, of course."

"Where's Peggy? She's been part of this", Steve wondered aloud. Tony knew the answer. "She's in the Owlery with her cousin, Sharon. Aside from that I've already told Peggy of my plan and she said, quote, 'You already got me into detention. I do not wish to be a part of your infantile endeavour'. Which is funny because that's exactly what Pepper tells me at least twice a week."

"Understandable", Natasha muttered. "Anyways, you in, Avengers?", Tony questioned.

"Avengers?", the others repeated with one voice.

"That's what we call ourselves; we're sort of like a team", Tony gave as an explanation.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think. The second part will be up in a few days.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: As promised here's the second and - since this is a two-shot - last part of the story. Enjoy!**

It's been a week since Tony had assembled the Avengers. The days became shorter and darker on the grounds of Hogwarts. Quidditch training turned into a cold and wet mess which had a big influence on the players' mood. Steve was already shivering on his broom when he decided to wrap the training for today. "That was good", he told his team, "But remember: Gryffindor may have the better players, but Ravenclaw does have the better tactic, for sure." The team replied with a affirmative mutter as they parted, returning their brooms to the broom chamber.

"Great training", Steve complimented the two new team members. The team was training harder, even though it barely had stopped raining the last days, in order to prove their victory over Gryffindor wasn't an accident. The Maximoff twins, who were Chasers since the beginning of the school year, played their role well.

"Have a nice day", the twins said with their East European accents, when Steve was excusing himself. He couldn't wait to enjoy the perks of the Prefects' and Quidditch Captains' bathrooms. His tired bones were feeling as if they were frozen because of the heavy rain that has made his clothes wet right at the beginning of their training this morning. So he hurried up the stairs to the fifth floor where a hot bath and a lot of soap bubbles were waiting for him.

Completely at ease after taking his time to relax, Steve strolled through the corridors, whistling. His good mood was even increased by a group of girls from different houses that were adoringly discussing his very six-pack, not even bothering to lower their voices as he passed by them.

His friends however weren't in such a good mood when they met in the late afternoon. Because it was the weekend all of the Quidditch teams used their time to train but Sam, Bucky and Nat were clearly still feeling cold when they were approaching. Their only comfort was that they were able to train at all because all of them had gotten a lot of detention after Coulson had caught them. Tony's mood of course was as superb as always.

"Can we please go inside?", Natasha insisted since they met outside in the entrance courtyard. At least it wasn't raining anymore for the first time today. Steve couldn't complain, so upon seeing his friends hugging themselves, he teased them, addressing them with a bright grin, "What happened to you? You look as if you encountered a couple of Dementors."

"Shut your face, Captain", Nat fired back, stressing the word 'Captain' because this title was what allowed him to use the Prefects' bathrooms. She didn't have that role in her own team.

"Nat's still angry that Hope van Dyne became Slytherin's Quidditch Captain", Bucky stated. "It should've been me", Natasha added. Both of them were playing on the team but Bucky had no interest in being the Captain anyway. He thought of it as a task that fit Steve perfectly, but he himself was happy with playing as a Beater and nothing more. Natasha however didn't agree with Bucky's opinion. She figured she would be a good Captain since she already was ordering around her friends and always picked after the boys. Maybe there was still a chance for her to ask Headmaster Fury to become a Prefect, now that she thought of it.

"Hey, are we going in now, or what", Sam questioned. "I had no idea you Quidditch players are such sensitive plants", Tony made fun of them.

"You must be a real badass then. I mean, you're not on your house team", Steve observed. "I have other things to deal with. I consider myself an independent consulter, though", Tony corrected, "Nevertheless, that doesn't exclude being badass. So you made one good point, I have to admit."

"For Merlin's sake", the others rolled their eyes, wondering why they hung out with Tony Stark again. To the majority's relief they went back inside the castle, continuing their conversation in the Great Hall. The actual reason they met was to discuss Tony's rat theory.

"Does anyone have a new idea concerning _the matter_?", Tony asked, calling it 'the matter' because Peter has come to halt at their table, staring in awe at Tony Stark sitting at his, Peter's, house table. "Just keep going, kid", Tony told him and he did as instructed, mumbling "Tony Stark" in amazement. Therewith Peter was quite unlike from everyone else, who were mad at the group for being caught at breaking a handful of school rules, which by the way cost them a lot of house points.

"Not really", Sam answered Tony's question for all of them just as Loki swaggered past them, taking big steps and having a weird smile on his face.

"Um guys", Nat said, "Is it just me or can Loki's smile and behaviour possibly be even more self-pleased than usual?"

The others followed her gaze, focussing on Loki who really had been in a pleasant shape for his standards, which meant he had even more malicious grins spare for the students around him the last days. "Of course, Loki, we should have guessed", Bucky began to speak, referring to him and Natasha in particular. They were in the same house as Loki after all.

"He would definitely sell someone down the river although it stains his own house, if you're askin' me", Sam stated. "He's got a nerve! Walking around the school all victoriously."

"Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did", Tony commented, seeming distracted as if his brain was already thinking of plans. Then suddenly without further discussions he stood up. With one quick movement Steve grabbed his arm. "Tony, what are you doing? We need a plan to-"

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Don't worry", Tony countered, freeing himself from Steve's hold. "That is why I'm worried", Steve muttered under his breath. The others knew there was no chance stopping him. Clint arrived at the table just when everyone but Steve turned to go. He shared a special handshake with Natasha before she followed Bucky to their house table. Puzzled, Clint looked at Steve. "You're not planning anything, are you?"

"No. No, we're not", Steve replied in an undertone of anger because apparently they weren't planning a thing. Tony Stark apparently didn't need such a tedious thing as a plan. "So why should we plan anything?", Steve said, more to himself.

"Oh, I was just wondering. You know, my birthday's at the beginning of January...", Clint hinted, putting out his board of Wizard Chess in order to start a game with Steve.

"Yeah sure. I know that. Sure", Steve stammered, making a mental note not to forget it, not this year, as he placed his chessmen on the board.

* * *

Tony followed Loki until they were in a less public place than the Great Hall. In a small corridor, leading to the dungeons, he smoothed out his shirt, which had the logo of a Wizard music band on it. Loki was quite a bit taller than him, as were most of Tony's classmates, and therefore he had found other ways to feel confident or at times even overconfident. He just wished he wore his Hogwarts robes. A uniform could add a lot to one's confidence.

"Hey", he addressed Loki. Loki's long black hair swung around his shoulders as he turned around. "Excuse me?", he spoke almost indignantly, making Tony almost want to throw up his pumpkin pie.

"I hope ratting on us at least gave you satisfaction. That it had a purpose in that scheming head of yours", Tony snapped. As Loki obviously wouldn't comment on this, Tony continued, "You got six students in trouble, two of whom were in Slytherin just like you and in the process lost points for your own house."

"And now you're going to suggest that I'd be better of with making friends and that I should apologize for my longing to fight for...let's say _rightness_ by giving away your duelling show?", Loki sneered.

If Tony was a little taken aback by this he didn't show it. "Uh actually, I'm planning to threaten you." "Ouh", Loki raised his eyebrows at that, anticipating what would follow.

"You picked the wrong persons to tangle with", Tony began, finding it pretty cliché, "You consider yourself cunning, maybe even sophisticated, but you know what, you're alone. Whereas we are a team. We have", Tony hesitated. Were they friends now that they worked together on this? Would the others agree to him calling them friends? "We have friends", Tony finished.

"I know everything about your _friends_ and I'm counting on them", Loki looked Tony straight in the eyes. That was a threat. Tony tried to estimate how much truth his words were carrying. "Make your move, God of Sparkle", Tony called on him, withstanding Loki's gaze. The nickname had its origin in an unsuccessful prank Loki had tried to play at the beginning of their first year. The prank had included the Great Hall's flying candles, which had appeared to be trickery-sealed since they had ended up on Loki's own head when he had intended to let them follow around James Rhodes. This day had also marked the beginning of the mutual dislike between Loki and Tony, who wasn't okay with someone bugging Rhodey and in return, by giving him this nickname, made sure no one would ever forget the image of Loki having a crown of candles sticking to his head so fast they had to be removed at the Hospital Wing.

Honestly, Tony felt a little intimidated by the words of their nemesis, Loki Laufeyson, causing him to lie awake at night. They needed to be careful. He had to concentrate his genius mind on getting inside Loki's head. It seemed inevitable that they would need human support to resist him.

Thoughts running through his mind, he eventually settled for a few hours of sleep. First thing the next morning he decided to go for a new approach and make provision for plan took him to the Owlery before his next lesson which he attended just in time and out of breath since he had to run all they way from the Owlery up to the Divination tower. The subject was taught by Slytherin's house teacher Professor Raina, who was a real Seer.

Tony took off his silver-blue scarf, having a seat next to Bruce. The students around them took out parchments on which they had written their homework. Since Raina's natural gift of prophecy occurred when dreaming, the class spent a lot of time on Dream Interpretation. Tony, admittedly, had had his problems with the subject. To begin with, Divination was an imprecise branch of magic and secondly, to analyse a dream you would have to be asleep first, which was the only thing Tony wasn't good at. But he soon found his strong suit in making up dreams to analyse, so he kept electing the subject.

"What did you write down this time, Tony?", Bruce wanted to know, enjoying the things Tony came up with because in his own dreams he mostly was chased by a big, angry, green guy. Last year he wrote down it could mean he has to overcome his weaker, or in this case angrier, self. But that he'd done only in order to keep his secret. He knew this dream was about his biggest fear and by now he wished his subconscious would stop showing him these scenes. They were a horrible reminder of something he could never forget either way.

The lesson seemed to pass by uneventful _._ Sif tried her hardest to read her dream about a cat with a pointed hat as a prophesy for Gryffindor winning the house cup. Upon drawing to a close of the lesson Raina asked some students to share their results with the class. One of them being no other than Loki, who steadfastly looked at Tony while talking calmly. "I reckon this dream was due to last week's Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. I was chased by this giant, mindless beast and there was no escaping it."

"Mindless beast?", someone asked. "Yes, it was completely focussed on me and got closer and closer and just before it's bared teeth could rip my throat the dream was over. I guess, a human has no quarrel with a werewolf." Upon this last word Bruce turned to Tony. Raina continued the lesson without having the two Ravenclaws' attention. She marked Sif's interpretation with a P, probably for the simple reason that it was foreseeing Gryffindor's victory and not because Sif didn't do a good job at it.

Tony left the classroom with an E for his theory why his made-up dream didn't have a deeper meaning, but more importantly he left it dismayed and nervous, Bruce following close behind him. "What did you do?"

"I may or may not have started a quarrel with Loki Laufeyson", Tony explained, using Loki's choice of words. "He threatened me and my friends but I had no idea he actually did have something over our heads."

"Tony, seriously, he knows about my secret. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?" No one knew about it, besides Professor Fury and Tony. Bruce couldn't hide it from his best friend even though he had tried his hardest to do so because he had been afraid Tony wouldn't have been comfortable around him anymore. But it had turned out that nothing changed between the two boys expect maybe that their friendship grew even stronger through sharing this secret. Which was the reason why Bruce was so thankful for this friendship. Tony was the only one engaging with him and that he did although he knew the truth.

"What if he exposes me, Tony? No one would ever look at me again, let alone, talk to me ever again. I wouldn't be able to attend school anymore. After six year without an incident I would lose everything and then I would have to move to Calcutta."

"Calcutta?", Tony questioned. "Exile. It was the first far off place I could think of", Bruce explained. "Bruce, look at me. You won't go anywhere. We're not letting anything happen to you, I promise. We're stopping Loki."

"We?", Bruce repeated, wondering who was included in mentioned 'we'. Tony told him about Steve, Natasha and the others, assuring that they could trust them. Along with Bruce Tony returned to their dorm where Jarvis awaited him, holding a letter.

* * *

Ever since the weekend Steve and his friends haven't talked to Tony. The latter wasn't so fond of talking to Natasha and he figured Bucky and Sam would get their update from Steve any way, so he decided to share his thoughts with Steve during dinner in the Great Hall.

In the Great Hall Tony went straight to the Hufflepuff table, searching for the tall blond boy. He found him sitting at his table, as most of the students did already, because Tony was a little late. Tony squashed himself between Steve and Sharon Carter.

"Stark, what are you doing here?", Steve let out, his voice giving away that he was surprised.

"So now we're back to 'Stark', are we", Tony chuckled. Then he lowered his voice. "I know we don't quite have a plan yet but I'm starting to change that. Loki let something slip the other day and I think we need a little help." "No way", Steve talked back, "We're not dragging more people into this than necessary."

"Okay, let me clarify this. I think we are _forced_ to get more support."

"What did you do?", a natural instinct inside of Steve wanted to know.

"Why do people keep asking me that", Tony wondered. Upon seeing the look Steve shot him he quickly went back to responding to the question. "Let's just say I underestimated Loki. He's endangering not only my friend, Bruce, but also himself and the whole school. Right now for me only two things are certain. First of all, all _we_ need is Thor Odinson." Steve thought about this. He was Loki's brother but even the blind Matt could see that they didn't get along.

"And second of all?", Steve questioned. Steve heard genuine concern in Tony's voice when he spoke again _"_ Loki is gonna try to hurt my friend and all _he_ needs is an opportunity", Tonyreplied, just as Professor Fury asked for everybody's attention.

"I have a little announcement to make. The school administration has made the decision to have another School Ball this year on the last day before Christmas, so everyone will still be here before most of you drive home for the holidays." The students' indistinct conversations in the hall indicated they were more or less happy about the news.

Steve turned around. Was this announcement the opportunity Tony spoke of? But as he wanted to ask him, he was already gone. When Steve spotted him between the rows of tables, Tony was grinning at him, mouthing 'Now that's what I call timing'. Steve shook his head, not able to understand Tony's bright grin so shortly after letting his worry show. Or maybe it was because he had shown his inner thoughts and feelings that he tried to overact it with the cheerful Tony Stark, his way of coping with it.

At the Ravenclaw table Tony sat down opposite Pepper and Jane. "Hey Pep", he addressed the redhead. "No", Pepper replied firmly. "I didn't even say what I wanted yet."

"Every time you come to me, going 'Hey Pep', I just know I better say 'no'."

"Fine. I'll give it a go, though." And then Tony asked for a little help with consulting Thor. Pepper reacted as unamused as ever, but Jane looked up upon hearing Thor's name, offering to talk to him.

* * *

Just like Tony imagined it would be, Steve told Sam and Bucky everything. "I don't know, man. I didn't imagine the whole thing to turn out this big", Sam said. "I told Tony the same but he seems to have a point."

"I don't mind. As long as we get Loki back", Bucky declared. He was busy observing a group of four girls at the back of the library. A Ravenclaw girl was just telling a Slytherin to shut up while the Gryffindor girl tried to unobtrusively catch a glimpse of the three boys, being very conspicuous.

"You're not helping. You've already caused enough trouble", Steve addressed Bucky.

"What?", Bucky countered indignantly."Stop patronising me, Steve. It's not like you're my boyfriend or something. And even then it would be inappropriate. How was I supposed to know it was the girls' bathroom if I've never been on that floor before?", he referred to his latest mischief.

"You're attending this school for years now", Steve informed him. "There's a sign at the door telling you which Bathroom it is", Sam added.

"Yes, but you can't see that at night, duh", Bucky replied. Steve and Sam facepalmed themselves. Shutting out their friend wasn't the best of their efforts against Loki, and they doubted there was good part to it at all. The group, consisting of Tony, Bruce, Steve, Sam and Natasha, met up with Thor, who wouldn't participate because Loki was his brother, but Thor let them know a few facts about him.

After that it was time for Bruce and Tony to bring the others into the loop. Natasha and Steve were quick at stomaching the first shock, Sam not so much. "You have it all? The whole nine yards? Fur, fangs, forgetting your identity? Don't get me wrong. Your secret's safe with me, but-"

"I understand. Yes, everything. A werewolf would even kill his best friend", Bruce spoke with a side glance at Tony. "But with the help of a potion I'm able to save my mind, so that although I do undergo the painful transformation every month, I'm not howling at the moon or anything."

Bruce was joking around but Tony knew this wasn't easy for him, so he continued the briefing. "If Loki wanted a show he would have to steal Bruce's potion because without taking it a week before full moon he would really turn into that 'mindless beast' Loki talked about. That's not impossible but pretty unlikely even though he presumably plans something."

"But Loki could tell anyone, any day" , Natasha interrupted. Tony pointed at her like a teacher who was thankful for his student's remark.

"He could, yes. That's not his style, though. He wants the show and therefore it's convenient that there will be a full moon on the day of the school ball." It still were two months till the school ball, in which the group met in between lessons, detention and Quidditch training.

* * *

The Quidditch game Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw on the first November weekend surprisingly didn't do any harm to the work of the group because Tony was busy with the plan and therefore forgot to tease Steve about it. During the game he remembered the threat he had made about Steve's other eye but it didn't look like the Ravenclaw team would fulfil it. Even though their best chaser, T'Challa, could take the Quaffel off Wanda, Pietro and the third Hufflepuff chaser several times, he only was able to actually score half of them because Steve's efforts as keeper were pretty successful. Tony was highly confused. Since Pepper substituted a blonde Ravenclaw girl, who had caught a cold from the training in the driving sleet, she played in the game, too, and he didn't know where to look. In the end Clint alias the Hawkeye caught the Snitch, leaving Jane Foster no chance to do the same for her team.

* * *

The day of the school ball began snowy and cold. Natasha found it ridiculous that they had started planning two months ago for getting Loki back. In the dungeons where the Slytherins had their common room and their dorms it was cold, so Nat sat down close to one of the fireplaces and thought through the plan they had laid out for the unlikely case that Loki would play along.

As Nat realized she was close to miss breakfast she hurried down the corridors, running straight into Pepper. The ponytailed redhead seemed to be deep in thought. She looked at Natasha confusedly and fixed her school uniform. "I'm very sorry", Pepper spoke. "It's alright, Potts. It was my fault", Natasha replied genuinely. She wanted to continue her way, when Pepper spoke again. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you. I know it's pretty short dated but I was wondering - because I know Tony and his new friends and so on have this dumb plan for tonight - I was wondering if we could go to the ball together. You know as friends. A girls night", she stammered.

Nat was surprised. Never has she heard Pepper stammering a sentence. She felt bad because she had to tell Pep that she participated in that 'dumb plan'. "Pepper, I'm sorry but I'm kind of helping Tony with this plan", she explained, adding, "But I know that Peggy also isn't overly fond of this whole 'Avengers' thing. Why don't you ask her?"

Pepper couldn't hide a flash of disappointment in her face but she held her head high, responding, "Thank you. Maybe I'll ask her." And then she headed off quickly. Natasha hesitated before she went in the opposite direction.

At the entrance of the Great Hall Natasha spotted Tony and Steve, jokingly she thought to herself that they were quite the team by now. "Don't worry it'll work", Tony tried to convince Steve. He didn't look convinced, though."Listen, Thor told us that Loki was a Diva. He wants attention. If he wants to put Bruce on the spot this is his best opportunity."

"It mocks me that we're grasping at straws. We actually have no clue what Loki's going to try."

Tony attempted to put an arm around Steve's shoulders, only reaching his shoulder blades. "Rogers, lighten up, would you. Where would be the fun in that? But listen, if anything goes horribly wrong I have a Plan B and then you're out of it. Then you let me end this." Tony was very serious about this which didn't help Steve calm down, but he nodded his head in comprehension.

Anticipation made the evening arrive slowly. The Hogwarts students changed into dress robes and gowns. The Great Hall's flying candles were hovering in the sky, accompanied by little snow flakes that never touched the floor, which was free of the long house tables. Instead smaller tables enframed a dance floor and the stairs, leading to the teachers' table, served as a stage for the choir that had the task to open the ball.

The students started to assemble in the hall when the weak winter sun was starting to set towards the horizon. Steve was fixing his tie as he came around the last corner before the hall's entrance. Clint was catching up with him, needing two take two steps every time Steve took one."Hey, Cap. Everything alright?"

"Yes. Splendid, actually", Steve he could think of since waking up this morning was Loki's possible venture and it made him feel least this time he didn't have to worry about a date for the ball because they hadn't even bothered to get one, although he was convinced Tony would have two to three dates anyway.

Once in the Great Hall Clint left Steve's side and disappeared somewhere close to the place where the students could pour themselves pumpkin juice and butter beer. Steve looked around the hall for any sign of Nat's red hair or Sam's witty comments, only spotting Thor on the other side of the room with Jane clinging to his arm.

"These cuties have potential to become ball king and queen", Natasha commented sarcastically. She was wearing a simple but stunning black dress. "But we're not voting for king and queen like the Muggles do", Steve replied confusedly. Natasha rolled her eyes, deciding it would be best to change the topic. "So, have you seen Stark or our adorable pal of a Gryffindor beater?"

"Not yet. I suspect Tony's being late on purpose though, so maybe we could wait closer to the entrance", Steve reasoned, pointing and then turning to the entrance. Natasha followed suit when that redhead from Ravenclaw was catching her eye. Pepper was wearing a turquoise dress that emphasized her eyes and by her side was Peggy, wearing a dress in royal blue. When she saw them Natasha was glad neither of them had to go to the ball alone, hoping she would become the chance of joining the girls night later.

Before long everybody was attendant, had a drink and the choir has sung as well. The ball had officially begun and after the first hour of dancing and pleasant conversation everywhere you look, there still hasn't been a sign of Loki. By now it wasn't long till the rise of the full moon and that meant they must keep their eyes open to spot Loki anywhere on the grounds, so he didn't have a chance to get too close to Bruce.

While the others separated Natasha stayed in the Great Hall, sipping at a butter beer when she suddenly saw shock of long black hair. Quickly, she set her glass on a nearby table and followed the figure dressed in black-green dress robes. Loki didn't seem too sure about the direction he was headed but he still moved pretty briskly. Natasha kept a certain distance between them. She didn't want to take hold of him before they were alone and more importantly before he was far enough away from where they kept Bruce. He headed for the Forbidden Forest and she didn't keep him from it until they were very close to the edge.

Then she sneaked up on him. She grabbed him on the shoulder, turning him around to face her. He immediately raised his wand. " _Expelliarmus_!"

" _Protego_ ", Natasha reacted quickly. " _Stupefy_." " _Protego_ ", Natasha shouted again and the charm rebounded at the one who cast it. Loki's expression was surprised and bemused. He lowered his wand. Loki's eyes stared at Natasha but when he spoke the intonation of his words belonged to someone else. "Tasha?" To Natasha this sounded familiar and she only knew very few people who called her that. But before she could realize who her opponent was, she had already yelled, " _Petrificus Totalus._ "

"Barton? Oh boy, I'm sorry", she said although he wouldn't hear her now. For one moment she thought about her possibilities before she decided to leave Clint where he was and hurry back to Steve to tell him about the false Loki. Meanwhile Sam chased someone he had spotted moving around the Greenhouses.

Steve was standing at the top of the stairs that led from the Entrance Hall to the upper floors when he suddenly heard noises in one of the corridors. He hurried in the direction of the noises to find out what had caused them and whether someone got hurt. Sure enough, he found a boy with long brown hair on the floor when he turned around the next corner. To him the boy appeared very familiar, in fact he would have been sure it was his best friend if his hair hadn't been that long. Steve's impression got confirmed when he saw his friend's face peek out between the strains of his newly lengthened hair.

"Bucky?", he addressed his friend. "You like my haircut?", Bucky questioned with a smirk. "What happened to you, Buck?"

"He tried to transfigure me, evidently, began with the hair. He tried a Confundus Charm but I fought back." "Loki?" "No, it was Tony." Just in this moment Steve perceived someone going up the stairs in the direction he had been coming from. Followed by Bucky, he ran back the way he had come. Upon seeing Tony taking the last stair Steve threw himself on him. "What a backstabbing game are you playing exactly, Stark?"

"Steve, what's this about?", Natasha, who had been following Tony, asked.

"Bucky was attacked only moments ago. By him", Steve told her, pointing at Tony. "What?", Tony exclaimed.

"Steve, I've been with him the last minutes. I found him when I was looking for you. He didn't attack anyone", Natasha informed him. Steve looked at each of his friends around him, helplessly. "Stark, what are you doing here? You're supposed to stay with Bruce", Steve addressed Tony in an attempt to check his identity. "Can't a man get himself a drink? I have social contacts to cultivate. Nice haircut by the way, Barnes."

"That's Stark", Bucky acknowledged. "But if you're here, Tony, then who tried to transfigure this fella's handsome appearance", Natasha pointed out. "Actually, I have the answer to this one. Loki. He did the same to Barton. He resembled Loki like a twin. So maybe Loki turned himslef into Tony."

"Well, I'm afraid he really has the hang of these transfigurations. I thought he was Tony", Bucky admitted. "What will Bruce think if Loki finds him now?"

"Son of a witch", Tony swore, turning on the spot in order to get back to Bruce as soon as possible.

* * *

Back where Bruce was hidden someone approached the door. There had been discussions about where to hide the werewolf. The usual spot in the Forbidden Forest (in case Loki knew about it) and the Ravenclaw tower weren't possibilities. But Hogwarts had a lot of rooms. The castle could turn into a maze if one was looking for something or someone in particular, unless that someone was leaving the hideout, giving it away in the process.

Loki stepped foot inside the room, finding Bruce crouched in the farthermost corner. "Oh thank Merlin, it's you, Tony. You almost gave me a heart attack. What happened to your genius knocking sign idea?"

"We don't have time for this", Loki improvised. "We lost track of Loki. I'm taking you to a safer place."

When the real Tony arrived he found what he had feared. The room was empty. There was no sign of Bruce and it was a question of minutes till the full moon would rise. As if stung by an Acromantula Tony ran along the corridors and downstairs, followed by his friends.

Loki, through some of the short cuts he had encountered in the castle, had been able to drag Bruce to the ground floor. Giving the fact that he could turn into a wolf any moment, Bruce got suspicious of Tony's carelessness when he led him past the hall where nearly all of their fellow students enjoyed the evening right now. He exhaled in relief when they were out in the courtyard. "Didn't you want to stop by the ball again to leave a door open concerning the ladies", it took Bruce a lot of effort to let his comment sound casual instead of showing he was more taut than a wire fence.

"Oh well, girls and parties." Loki was indifferent to those things but Tony wasn't, which he realized too late.

"You're not Tony, are you", Bruce remarked but before Loki could answer Bruce fell on his knees. Then everything happened very quickly. Loki broke the mantling charm of a big cage in the middle of the courtyard. Stepping out of the castle one wouldn't be able to ignore it. Bruce lost more and more of his features with every second of the transformation. Loki was ready to lift Bruce in the cage with a wave of his wand when suddenly a giant lynx prodded him. Loki ended up in the cage, his wand beyond arm's reach, and the enormous lynx helped the werewolf stand up while in pain and together they headed off to the wide grounds of Hogwarts, that were illuminated by the pale full moon's light.

All Steve and Natasha could do when they arrived shortly after Tony was watch without having an idea what they had just witnessed. "What did I miss?", Sam joined them, panting. Steve turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "My Loki turned out to be Scott Lang and I followed him around for ages. We never talk about this again, okay", Sam offered. "Deal", Steve agreed, giving his attention back to Natasha who had approached the cage.

"Harm set, harm get", she commented, looking at the real Loki. The effect of the Polyjuice Potion he had used on himself wore off. Natasha turned back to Steve. "You think he learned his lesson? Because we should get rid of this cage before it gives somebody notions."

"That's a brilliant idea, Miss Romanoff", Professor Hill said behind them, "Once you settled this, come along, please. The headmaster may only have one eye but he sees everything." However, the following conversation with Fury didn't turn out as unpleasant as Steve, Natasha and Sam expected, at least not for them since they were allowed to return to the school ball whereas Loki stayed in the office with Fury.

At the ball Clint caught up with Natasha again, looking like himself again. As Natasha saw him she felt guilt rising up in her chest. She had had the odd feeling of something she had wanted to do but eventually she had forgotten Clint at the edge of the forest. Instead of being mad at her, though, Clint simply tried to find an explanation for all this. "He got in my head", he stated bewilderedly, not being able to recall everything due to the Confundus Charm. Natasha figured he might need a drink. Although she couldn't offer him anything strong, she took him to the table with the drinks. On their way across the hall Clint talked about his plans for the holidays. "My family flies to Budapest for Christmas. Wanna come?", he asked Natasha who nodded her head yes.

Tony, to Steve's relief, caught up with them as well. Steve raised his eyebrows at him, questioning. The look Tony returned to him told Steve what he needed to know most. Bruce was safe, the crisis of putting everyone in danger averted. "He's hiding in his shelter in the forest. I'm a fan. Of this harmless, curled up furball of a werewolf, that is", he added.

Now that this was cleared, Steve changed the topic to the other encounter they had made. "You're an animagus."

"Indeed, I am. Not for long yet. Took some time and all these papers..."

"But it's forbidden, Tony. Animagus get monitored, registered..."

"Oh the perks of being Howard Stark's son", Tony chuckled. "The Minister for Magic doesn't let his own son be put on a list to be controlled. Mind you, when my father sent me a letter a few months ago, telling me that we had succeeded, I liked to think I didn't do this completely for myself after all. Werewolves do not hurt animals. By becoming one I could help my friend." Steve had to admit he was not as shocked as impressed. "And that you did today", he appreciated Tony's actions. Tony thanked him with three seconds of silence before he opened his mouth again.

"So what now, Old Man. You need a plan for having fun? Because I'm gonna dance with at least one of the redheads over there if you're not coming", Tony pointed at the group of their friends. Natasha had finally joined the girls night, as did Bucky, Sam and Clint, taking away the title 'girls night' in the process.

"You know, you're a pain in the ass, Stark", Steve pinpointed.

"Tell me about it, Rogers."

 **A/N: That's it. Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. You probably spot all the quotes from the movies. I would be happy about constructive criticism and I'm looking forward to sharing other stories with you.**


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